Lee County, AL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Article IV, Section 4.2, titled 'Dimensional requirements,' is short and complete: it sets the minimum lot area at 15,000 square feet 'or as otherwise required by the Lee County Health Department,' requires every lot to also meet the Lee County Subdivision and Land Development Regulations' dimensional standards, and caps building height at 45 feet for residential buildings and 60 feet for nonresidential buildings. Section 4.1 makes these standards apply to 'all uses and activities established after the effective date of these regulations,' under authority the Planning Commission draws from Section 6 of Alabama Act 401, its enabling act.

Nowhere in Article IV, or anywhere else in the regulations, does the county define or cap 'lot coverage' or impervious surface as a percentage of lot area; Article V, Supplemental District Regulations, where such a standard might otherwise sit, is marked 'Reserved.' If the Planning Director finds a violation of these dimensional standards, Section 6.3(a) requires a written notice by certified mail giving the owner up to 30 days to correct it; an owner who disagrees with that finding can file an Administrative Appeal to the Planning Commission under Section 6.4 at least 15 days before a scheduled hearing.

From there, Section 7.3 lets an aggrieved party ask the five-member Zoning Review Board to review the Commission's record within 15 days, and Section 7.4 allows a further appeal to the 37th Judicial Circuit Court of Alabama within 30 days on the grounds that the regulations are 'unreasonable, discriminatory, unconstitutional, or otherwise invalid.'